Page 27 - AWA Vol.42-No.1 issue

CROP PROTECTION

Enko and Syngenta Advance New, Novel Mode-of-Action Fungicide

Enko Chem, Inc. announced that a
novel fungicide class of chemistry
developed in collaboration with Syn-
genta Crop Protection has advanced
to field testing. The chemistries,
discovered through Enko’s ENKOM-
PASS™ discovery platform, repre-
sent a breakthrough in the discov- critical priority for sustainable agri-
ery of effective and safe molecules culture. was based on data generated to date
targeting a novel mode of action that The collaboration utilized Enko’s in controlled environments.
has been the focus of industry efforts precision ENKOMPASS platform, “This milestone reflects steady
for decades. progress in a complex area of crop
which applies DNA-encoded librar-
The ongoing program is focused on ies, machine learning, and structural protection research,” said Tony
providing an additional tool to help biology to evaluate large numbers of Klemm, CEO of Enko. “We look for-
manage fungal pathogens in cere- potential molecules with an empha- ward to the next stage of work with
al production worldwide. Fungal sis on critical performance charac- Syngenta as testing moves into field
pathogens remain among the most teristics. environments.”
economically damaging threats to Syngenta plans to conduct field Enko’s collaboration with Syngenta
global crop production, with yield testing next year at several locations focuses on discovering and develop-
losses in the billions of dollars annu- to assess performance under typical ing new chemistry for novel modes
ally. The development of resistance grower conditions.The advancement of action for key crop protection chal-
to existing chemistries makes the to the next phase of the collaboration lenges. Circle 27 on enquiry card
discovery of new modes of action a

Ginkgo Bioworks and Agricen Enter Collaboration to
Optimize Agricultural Soil

are experts at – simplifying process-
es with challenging microbes. They
delivered. This gives us more time
to focus on advancing solutions in
Ginkgo Bioworks a provider of re- our pipeline and providing novel urgency for next-generation agri-
search and development services biological crop nutrition solutions to cultural solutions that can support
and tools for biological product de- our global partners." growers, consumers and the planet,"
velopment and Agricen, a leader in Growers are increasingly adopting Michael Miille, General Manager of
the development and commercial- biological solutions to help them im-
ization of novel biological and soil prove crop yield, quality and stress Ginkgo's agriculture business unit
amendment solutions for plant nu- resistance while also maintaining says. "It has been a pleasure to work
trition and health, today announced the integrity and sustainability of alongside our partners at Agricen to
the successful completion of their their soil. For over 20 years, Agri- deliver an optimized process that al-
initial collaboration to develop and cen has been developing and com- lows them to continue to focus on the
optimize a low-cost, efficient fer- mercializing solutions to meet those development of biological solutions
needs, including through the de-
mentation process for complex bac- velopment of novel biological and important to crop production."
terial strains used as a component soil amendment technologies that
in one of Agricen's soil amendment increase nutrient availability in the Ginkgo aims to develop and ad-
products. vance agricultural biological solu-
soil, improve crop uptake of essen-
"Ginkgo's unique approach to pro- tial nutrients, help plants better tol- tions across crops and geographies
cess development and optimization erate abiotic stress and enhance soil through platform technologies that
brought an efficiency for developing biome function. The new collabora- address diverse market needs. The
a custom fermentation process that tion with Ginkgo enables Agricen company's platform supports part-
we didn't see with other toll produc- to produce microbes in one of its ners at various stages of bioprocess
ers," said Michael Totora, President soil amendment products faster and development: from media and pro-
and CEO of Agricen. "This is work more efficiently, highlighting the cess screening at small and inter-
that we would typically do in-house, value of Ginkgo's technologies in mediate scales to commercial-scale
but we are always looking for ways helping agriculture companies gain
to be more operationally efficient. efficiencies at later stages of product manufacturing at volumes ranging
We saw what Ginkgo's team offered development. from 20 liters to 3,000 liters.
and enlisted them to do what they "At Ginkgo, we understand the Circle 28 on enquiry card

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